HERB - "Violets are blue....."
Roberta R Comstock
froggestow at juno.com
Wed Apr 28 12:27:42 PDT 1999
On Tue, 27 Apr 1999 23:05:34 EDT WlNDSlNGER at aol.com writes:
><<are you talking about a pale blue swirly flower? That's a wood
>violet. >>
>
>Nope. A teensy blue-purple flower, that, along with clover, likes to
>grow on
>your lawn. Common enough to be called a weed, I suppose. *I*
>always
>thought this was Viola odorata....but someone told me it wasn't.
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The teensy bit is an important clue. That may be speedwell (_Veronica
spp._). The blossoms are not much bigger than the head of a straight pin
(lesss than 1/8 inch). They are bilaterally symmetrical and have 4
petals, 3 of which are almost identical and the 4th is narrower. The
entire plant is sprawling and creeping in habit and seldom as long as my
hand.
Violets (_Viola spp._), while not large, are considerably larger than
veronica!
The most common types have blossoms that are on individual stalks that
have a crook at the top end (individual leaves are on separate stalks).
The flowers may be about 1/2 inch across (sometimes smaller or larger).
The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, have 5 petals, and can range in
color from deep purple to red violet, to pale blue-violet, yellow, white
and variegated. There are also a number of violets that have a central
stem from which both leaves and flower stalks arise. The leaf shapes on
these are highly variable. The ones known as johnny-jump-ups or
heart's-ease have a two color arrangement with the upper 2 petals a
completely different color from the lower three (such as yellow and
purple). Pansies are a type of viola.
I can't say how the medicinal properties vary from species to species,
but as far as I know, all violet flowers are edible and many of the
leaves are used as pot herbs.
Hertha Blair of Froggestow
Calontir
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